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08
Jul
Are Metal-Free Dental Implants Radioactive?
When you are deciding between titanium dental implants and metal-free dental implants, you want to make sure you’re making the healthiest choice. If you are uncomfortable with the thought of metal implants or think you might have a titanium allergy, you might be considering ceramic implants instead, but you might be concerned if you read something saying these implants are radioactive.
While it’s true that metal-free dental implants are radioactive, it’s no cause for concern. The amount of radiation released is very small.
The Source and Amount of Radiation in Dental Implants
Radioactivity in these implants comes from the presence of tiny amounts of uranium and radium, which are found in the deposits of mineral zirconium used to make the implants. Through purification, the amount of these elements is dramatically reduced. According to a recent study by CeraRoot, the amount of radioactivity in their implants is less than the minimum detectable level (MDL), which is 0.03 becquerels per gram (Bq/g), which is consistent with other studies showing very small levels of radiation.
Comparing Radiation to Other Sources
But how much radiation is that? The unit becquerels measures the number of radioactive decays that occur in a substance per second. The amount in these dental implants is comparable to safe doses commonly found in many of the foods we eat. For example, the safe limits for radioactive uranium in food is 0.1 Bq/g, about three times the level found in ceramic dental implants.
But that’s only part of the story. The amount of food you eat is large compared to the size of dental implants, so we have to consider the amount of radiation you receive from the dental implant over the course of a year. That amount for a dental implant is about 0.01 millisievert (mSv) per year. Most of us don’t know how much that is, but it’s about the amount of radiation you get every day from background radiation. You can compare that radiation to other things you do in your daily life:
- Flight from Los Angeles to New York: 0.04 mSv
- Chest x-ray: 0.02 mSv
- Living in a stone, concrete, or brick building: 0.07 mSv/year
- Radiation from potassium in the body: 0.39 mSv
As you can see, the amount of exposure you get from a ceramic dental implant is very, very small.
The radiation from metal-free dental implants will have no impact on your health and the health of your bones.
If you would like to talk about this or any other issue related to metal-free dental implants in Beverly Hills, please call (310) 275-5325 today for a consultation with an implant dentist at Nicolas A. Ravon, DDS, MSD.